DE8711574U1 describes a packet of cigarettes comprising a rigid container with a hinged lid; and a group of cigarettes housed inside the container and enclosed in a foil wrapping having a front opening. In a front wall, the container has a transparent window, which is superimposed entirely and directly over the front opening in the foil wrapping, so that a front portion of the group of cigarettes is visible from outside the packet of cigarettes.
DE1996454U describes a packet of cigarettes comprising a container; and a group of cigarettes housed inside the container. In a front wall, the container has a transparent window, so that a front portion of the group of cigarettes is visible from outside the packet of cigarettes.
The above documents DE8711574U1 and DE1996454U each describe a packet of cigarettes comprising a container having a transparent window, so that a portion of the group of cigarettes is visible from outside the packet of cigarettes, thus enabling the user of the packet to see the contents and how many cigarettes are left inside the packet, without the packet having to be opened.
The packets of cigarettes described in DE8711574U1 and DE1996454U, however, have been found to have a major drawback. That is, new packets are normally displayed for sale by retailers in display fixtures, in which a packet of cigarettes may remain unsold for several days. In which case, the packet of cigarettes may be exposed to artificial light, and especially sunlight, which, on striking the exposed portion of the cigarettes through the transparent window, tends to alter the colour of the cigarettes at the exposed portion, thus rendering the packet unsaleable.